Swans ruckman Callum Sinclair admits he watched with envy from afar, as his former teammates at West Coast won the AFL premiership last year.
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He was quick to congratulate them in the aftermath, particularly those he was close to, including Norm Smith Medallist Luke Shuey, star forward Josh Kennedy and midfield tagger Mark Hutchings.
But at the same time the fire has been burning inside, fuelling him to chase another shot at glory. Sinclair left the Eagles for the Swans after the heartbreak of a grand final loss to Hawthorn in 2015.
"I certainly watched the game, I had some close mates playing and it was a terrific game of footy," he said.
"It was a little bit difficult seeing your old side win a premiership, but a lot of the guys in that team I'm good mates with, who I'm rapt for.
"And it fuels the fire to get this (Swans) group to get another opportunity at it."
In a thrilling grand final, Collingwood kicked the first five goals of the game, but Dom Sheed won the flag with a set shot from the pocket with less than two minutes left, as the Eagles prevailed by five points.
Sinclair, who stands at two metres tall also endured a crushing elimination final loss to cross-town rivals GWS Giants last year, where the Swans only kicked 4.6 for the game to lose by 49 points.
Having tasted the fierce Western Australian derby atmosphere when the Eagles take on Fremantle, Sinclair believes games between the Giants and Swans will rise to similar heights in coming years.
Sydney will begin the new campaign at the JLT Community Series on March 2 against the Giants, before the AFL season starts against the Western Bulldogs in Melbourne on March 23.
Adding to the intrigue this year, the AFL has introduced nine rule changes, including at kick-ins, centre bounces and hands in the back interpretations, after months of discussions.
"You can train for that stuff all you want and put together an ideal scenario and tactics in pre-season," Sinclair said.
"But you're playing against yourselves. I just don't have an answer, it's a wait-and-see thing, I think it's going to be anything drastic in terms of changes. The JLT is going to is going to show us more about how we setup with the rule changes."
Sinclair was a rookie draft selection for the Eagles in 2013, before being elevated the following year and then involved in a trade with Lewis Jetta after the 2015 season.
He endorsed the prospects of Shellharbour junior James Bell, who is a Swans Academy product and picked up in the rookie draft last year.
Bell has been training with the senior squad during the pre-season and declared he would be a potential debutant this year.
"If he gets the opportunity I hope he takes it with both hands," Sinclair said.
"It's pretty hard to find that explosive pace like he has got. He's still developing in his footy and in himself, but he's willing and eager to learn and surrounds himself with senior players. He's making all the right steps."